User blog:SsVivid/What I Learned From FotG
Warning, this page may contain ' SPOILERS for the quest ''Fate of the Gods, Especially if you enjoy quests for the new lore they contain. '''Proceed cautiously given that knowledge, and please be careful in comments of what will show ''' '''in the recent activity feed. From the quest proper World Gate *Guthix created the World Gate. *The World Gate is a special portal in that, unlike other portals, it can reach every plane in existence. However, though it is able to reach every plane, at the present it can only reach planes Guthix or Zaros visited using it. To reach new planes requires the addition of a huge amount of power and time - greater than that of Azzanadra. Relationships *Sliske likes Zaros but doesn't feel loyalty to him or follow him. What loyalty he does exhibit is more for his own interests than because of any piety or love he feels for Zaros. In fact, he's kind of godless in his ideas, but in a "we don't need him," way rather than a, "they're bad and need to go," way. *Zaros does not begrudge Zamorak for his ascension. *To Zaros, Mahjarrat are like younger siblings. Zaros *Zaros was created by Mah, the elder god, with what little energy she had after crawling out of the Great Volcano. So, Zaros was created on the great volcano on Freneskae. *Zaros is the divine aspect of dark energy. *The only creatures older than Zaros are the elder gods. He real old. *Zaros admits he took advantage of the tendency of mortals to god-worship, but no longer seems to be interested. *People died in the building of Zaros's empire, but those deaths numbered far fewer than in the fights that destroyed it. *Zaros wanted to unite all of the mortal gods together in his empire. *Zaros never started a war. *Zaros did not order Sliske to kill Guthix directly. *Tumeken's final act made Zaros realize he had become the monster he was fighting against; with this revelation he started to remove his presence from the empire. *Zaros's position as a direct divine descendant of Mah explains why he was able to create a new, working ritual stone. *The Infernal tongue was the first natural language Zaros encountered. *Like Seren, Zaros is being of divine crystal. Zaros's Creed and His Future Plans *Zaros does not want to build another empire. *Zaros values mortal life like Guthix did, but prefers to gently guide them towards greatness rather than leaving them to succeed or fail on their owns. *Loyalty, devotion, intelligence, strength, and honor are the traits Zaros holds dear. *Zaros's ultimate ambition is to become an elder god. Should he succeed, he will be able to speak to the other elder gods on behalf of mortals. *Zaros has named the "Great Revision." Elder Gods *There are five elder gods. Mah is one of them. *Mah's power is in potential: darkness and light. *Mah was left on Freneskae because she was believed stillborn by her four siblings. *Mah is cruel and possesive; this is what drove Zaros to run away and explore the universe. *Elder gods do not know-all or see-all. *Mah was born malnourished and thus with no knowledge, only instinct. She is mentally fractured. To her, Zaros is like a child's doll. *Elder gods can't easily communicate with mortals. *The elder gods live on gielinor and have since its creation. *In the Great Volcano is the Elder Hall. Inside, in addition to some of Mah's energy, are five fractured spheres. If i had to guess, I'd say they're elder god eggs and that the elder gods hatched. One was icy, one is molten hot, one is black and smooth, one is patterened with the same honeycomb as the Stone - and floats over a pit of quicksand, and one is earthy and possibly growing with bits of moss. Demons, Mahjarrat, and Vampyres *Demons were the first living, sentient race Zaros encountered after fleeing Freneskae. *Virii are Chthonian pack animals like hellhounds or dogs. Zaros had a couple as pets. *An example of the Virii that we know is Ocellus, a Guardian of Guthix - who actually was ''one of Zaros's pets. Wonder how ''that happened. *Demons and vampyres were the earliest creations of the elder gods. Infernus and Vampyrium are the nearest worlds to Freneskae. *Zaros is ultimately responsible for vampyre aristocracy. *There WERE some Mahjarrat who stayed behing on Freneskae when the Mahjarrat left with Icthlarin. *Mahjarrat officially means "the children of Mah." *The Mahjarrat race, created by the goddess of potential, are themselves the epitome of potential. Other *Moving things to and from the shadow realm takes incredible mastery of shadow magic such that only skills rivalling those of Sliske can manage the task. *The shadow realm appears to be basically the material realm, but darker and shadey. *According to Sliske (so, this isn't super reliable), the events of Missing, Presumed Death and Bird and the Beast were a diversion for the gods so that Zaros could return without issue. *Azzanadra's hat is a symbol of the pontefix; possibly of Pontefix Maximus. *Seren is the divine aspect of light energy. *It is thought that the dragonkin originally sought Jas for help with something: maybe mercy or retribution. Instead, they ended up cursed. *The reason Nex scares the mortal gods so much is because she is living proof of how close Zaros is to elder godhood. *Ilujanka is pronounced "ill-oo-YANKH-ah." *Sliske currently possesses both the Siphon and the Catalyst. *There is an Elder Hall on Gielinor. Possibly multiple. *There is an Elder Artifact called The Measure. It is now in the possession of the World Guardian. It measures levels of anima nearby. *There are 12 elder artifacts, if you didn't already know that. From the Crystals If you have finished the quest but not the crystals, beware of spoilers here. Zaros Himself *Zaros has a counterpart who, as he is analytical his counterpart is empathetic. *His counterpart appears to be Seren. This means that Seren is not an ascended elf after all. *Zaros is compelled, not unlike Guthix, to protect Gielinor from the harm that fighting and god warring causes it. Of course, he has much different ideas about how to go about it. *Zaros possesses the ability to force loyalty on non-divine mortals and his companion. What Zaros Has Done *Zaros found Infernus and was impressed by the demons' efficient societal architecture. He took it upon himself to give them purpose. *Zaros found Vampyrium and thought their way of life was wasteful. He taught them about society and culture. *Zaros did genuinely wish to solve the Ilujanka's fertility problems. However, fertility problems relate directly to creation, and therefore are incredibly difficult issues to handle with magic - to instill life requires the divine energy of elder deities. In fact, it was to solve the ilujanka's fertility problem that he decided to pursue elder godhood. *Zaros dabbled in creation by using energy from a comatose Mah, thus creating the zarytes. However, he failed to create sentience. *Nex is the one nihil/zaryte that Zaros took a liking to. He implanted a sliver of his own being into her. *At some point during the second age, while searching for the elder gods, Zaros discovered the true purpose of Gielinor. What he found seemed to terrify him and it inspired him to, since he couldn't create life, help mold existing life into stronger forms. He hopes one of the mortals will become a savior; his Ender, if you will. The Universe *There is a place called the elemental realms. It teems with diverse life and also a great number of "gods." Zaros thought himself separate from them because he originated from true divinity, rather than a non-elder god. *Gielinor is the furthest world in the universe. *Gielinor and Freneskae are the two furthest points in the universe. Infernus and Vampyrium are the two closest worlds to Freneskae, the first worlds created after the elder gods (minus Mah) left Freneskae. Seren *It was Seren who started the Ritual of Rejuvination tradition. She was insulted by the Mahjarrat, so posed as Mah and convinced them to sacrifice their own energy to restore Mah. (However, it wasn't the most effective. Mah's lengthy sleeping spells slowly left her comatose, and eventually all the rituals did were quell her nightmares temporarily.) *She also taught them how to perform the Ritual of Enervation. When Mah would awake and start raging around, the Mahjarrat were to, as Seren had taught them, drain some of Mah's energy so they could reproduce. Seren felt guilt over this, but thought it necessary so that Mah didn't rip the planet apart. *Seren left Freneskae because Mah's condition had slipped to a new low and she felt powerless to help. She hoped to find the other elder gods, who themselves may have been able to help their sister. *Seren fell in love with the elves largely because it was the first beautiful, healthy, harmonoius world and civilization she discovered after ages of fruitless, morbid searching for the elder gods. In addition, when she introduced herself to them, they adored her from the first moment - even without her forcing them to adore her. (Or, at least, if she did, it wasn't intentional.) *From the elves' love, Seren learned what she had been missing through all her years with Mah - the right to choose. She was intoxicated by the love of the elves, but it was given freely and wasn't manufactured. In a way, this gave Seren an epiphany, and henceforth she wished never to leave them. Relationships *Zaros is frustrated and confused by Mah. On one hand, she is a a being of immense primordial power with the capacity to create life and even to create Zaros himself. On the other hand, she is a stunted child of a creature who uses her power to create, more or less, amusements. *Zaros is different from Seren, but has an affection for her. He is glad that he is not alone in the world. *Seren feels a guilty duty to Mah; she understands that Mah is a child afraid of being alone, and is compelled to comfort and nurture the creator to whom she owes her existence. *When Zaros and Seren come into close proximity, they have powerful effects on each other. Seren feels devotion to Zaros and Zaros feels adoration for Seren. They find the experience intoxicating, but also destructive since it costs them his concentration and her force of will. "We are slaves to each other." Mahjarrat *The Mahjarrat were created after Zaros left Freneskae. They encountered each other for the first time on Gielinor. *It seems that, like the Muspah, Mahjarrat came about from Mah's dreams. They may have been desperate attempts to recreate Zaros, who by that time had left her. *During the Second Age, Zaros intended for the Mahjarrat to eventually inherit his empire. *Seren remarked that the creatures created by Mah's dreams were, unlike herself and Zaros, not made "entirely of crystal." This is very probably the explanation for the gemstones found on Mahjarrat foreheads (and occasionally other places). From Post-Quest Extras *Sliske is not a god, nor does he want to be. However, he is a lot like the World Guardian in that he can't be controlled by divine powers. *Sliske killed Guthix of his own volition; he was not ordered to do it by anyone. However, he believed that it was something that had to be done and expected that it would eventally ''have been asked of him one way or another. *Sliske does, in fact, have the Stone of Jas, and ''has used it. However, though he has taken power from it incidentally (very like The Adventurer has), he does not make continuous use of it for power the way Lucien did. Instead, he uses the Stone's other function - to transfer knowledge. He figures these details are the differences between stonetouchers and false users. *Sliske plans to start the god wars anew, however he does not say to what end. *Sliske's favorite color is aquamarine. *The final elder goddess has been identified with the name "Bik." She is the one associated with the talking statues and the Speaker. From the Q&A The World Gate and Interplanar Travel *The World Gate symbols are letters from the established Guthixian alphabet. **The letters are approximately related to the worlds they connect to. For example, 'N' stands for Naragun, the naragi homeworld, and 'T' stands for tarddiad, which is Welsh for 'origin', therefore the homeworld of the elves. *Guthix used the elder sword to create the pathways that the World Gate makes use of for travel between worlds. He later used the sword where the Valluta is now, but cut too deep, piercing the void (and shattering the sword in the process). This explains the similarity in look between the World Gate and the Void Gate. *The elder sword and World Gate are intrinsically linked. The difference between those things and god portals is a matter of power/distance. It takes relatively smaller amounts of power to travel between two worlds that are 'close' (in terms of planar distance). *Any god of a certain tier can travel between worlds, and slowly make their way through the universe (by expelling energy) - the lower the tier of godhood, the larger a burden this puts on them (hence Icthalrin and Amascut's jaunt to find the Mahjarrat was a huge effort for them, though they may themselves have had other means). **This is how Zaros originally traversed the universe (slowly, one world at a time). **The World Gate, on the other hand, is such a powerful device because it provides near instant travel across vast distances. It's no wonder he nabbed control of it. *It also takes more energy to bring more than just one entity through a portal, so bringing vast armies between worlds is slow and costly. **This is why Zaros did what he did to Loarnab, using its power to bring his demonic legions all the way from Infernus, rather than his own. There are exceptions to every rule, too, and special cases, of course. *The fairies broke down their own world gate to create the fairy ring network; those technologies are compatible. Future Stuff! *There's a good chance we'll eventually get to explore more of Freneskae and investigate the fates of the Chelon-Mah and Mahserrat. **There are at least a few Mahserrat/Chelon-Mah remaining; there are some plans for them formulating. Either that, or they're extinct and the plans will reveal what happened to them. Zaros *Zaros claimed he never started any wars. Regarding the Menaphites, then, it probably started out from simple border skirmishes (like, say, Kharidians launching a pre-emptive strike at the expanding Zarosian border out of fear) involving none of the gods. **The desert gods have ever only been interested in their own little area of the world, with no desire for expansion. *Zaros learned about the elder gods by seeing their progressions through the universe and putting the pieces together on his own. Mah, born without memory, never taught him. *Zaros's return is still secret; only those who he addressed know about it. However, it's inevitable that everyone else will figure it out pretty quickly. *The relationship between Seren and Zaros is a bit tricky - it's potentially borderline Lannister. I'd say the normal rules don't apply to divine creations, and that it's purposefully left open to interpretation whether their effect on each other is familial or romantic, and even if it's real or imagined. Maybe it's not actually something done to them, and they just believe that to be the case. They are both quite alien beings with emotions beyond mortal comprehension. The Elder Gods *The elder gods that created this universe were born on Freneskae. (In case that wasn't clear already.) *Wen is the name of the elder god who embodies ice. **Also, it's hinted that the name of the fifth elder god (we know Jas, Ful, Wen, and Mah) will be added at some point as post-quest Sleeper dialogue. *In the quest, Mah is described as more or less dying. However, elder gods cannot die. That was more an affectation of Zaros and Seren - their interpretation of what was happening to Mah. At Runefest, it was also said that elder gods can choose to power down, the ultimate effect of which might seem akin to death in the eyes of some. *Though the elder gods seem to correspond to the elements of contemporary magic (Jas - air, Ful - fire, Wen - water, ??? - earth), they are very primordial ancient beings and don't actually correspond wholly or directly to anything in this way. If anything, it works in reverse: the elements themselves may derive from the different elder gods. **If the elder gods could be represented by anything, they would all be facets of time. Ful is described in terms of constancy (TzHaar); Wen is related to reversion (Oracle); Jas to progression; ??? to alteration; and Mah to potential (Zaros). They should certainly never be thought of as "Blah, the elder god of Blah", though - they just are. *As Mah is the youngest, Jas is the eldest sister. Their relative pecking order is denoted by the complexity of the patterns on the fragmented spheres. *The locations of the Elder Chronicles that can be found around Gielinor using The Measure do correspond to their locations on the world. (Near the submerged statue on Entrana, outside the TzHaar entrance, near the Oracle on the Ice Mountain, by the archaeologist camp in the Ruins of Ullek). **Jagex stated at some point that the player had interacted with the elder gods at some point ... well, "walking on" is an interaction. *The goal of finding higher levels of anima to consume is actually secondary to their true aims... The Measure *The Measure is probably the weakest of the Elder 12 and its function is too limited for it to be of too much interest even to the gods (though it could have a hidden, unintended function like some of the other elder artefacts have). *The measure has no mortal-given name. (As opposed to, for example, The Catalyst's nickname "Stone of Jas.") *Coming into close proximity, and especially touching, an elder artifact causes automatic knowledge of the artifact's true, elder-given name. *As (probably) the weakest of the Elder 12, the effect of The Measure would be far less pronounced than some of the other elder artefacts. It would be unlikely to make someone who is already a god more powerful (aside from allowing them to more easily locate anima). It might have the by-product of making a mortal being much better at divination, which could in turn lead to more power for that individual, but it would take a VERY long time (and the universe doesn't have that long). Other *Nihil survived because Zaros created a loooooot of them in his quest for knowledge; enough that, once he abandoned them, they were numerous enough to figure out how to survive before they all died off. They probably figured out to hunt Muspah for energy so that they could propagate. *Sliske doesn't actually dislike the player. He was genuinely angry at Zaros, but his outburst in that scene could better be described as a low mood swing than a measured opinion. From the Podcast * *The developers considered letting the player meet a Freneskaen "Mahjarrat." That is, like one of the Chelon-Mah or Mahserrat. This suggests that they are, in fact, all the same kind of creature. *Zaros himself, though he is a powerful tool created by an elder god, he is not an elder artifact. The artifacts were utilitarian tools meant to help them better craft the universe, whereas Zaros was more like a plaything. *Zaros is most interested in governing life and managing it well. If he's attracted to Gielinor specifically, it's because there's so much life there, but he would probably be happy doing it anywhere. *The Stone of Jas is basically a hard-boiled elder god egg. As a result, the contents inside are condensed into a very pure, intense energy and no longer "viable" in the sense that an egg normally is. Discuss: WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT OMG. *The Anima Mundi is a separate thing from the anima in a world. It allows that world to actally go about producing more anima for itself and to evolve and flourish. The elder gods would have introduced some initial flora and fauna to the world, which kickstarted the anima mundi, which was left to stew on its own and develop the world in its own ways. *The elder gods didn't create all vegetation, but they probably did invent the idea of vegetation. Category:Blog posts Category:What I Learned